


How to Drink Coffee

by Goron_King_Darunia



Category: Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Genre: Colette Brunel makes an appearance but she doesn't do much, M/M, Marta Lualdi and Alice are name dropped in case that's an issue, Multi, Soulmates, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23926312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goron_King_Darunia/pseuds/Goron_King_Darunia
Summary: In a world where the first words your soulmate speaks to you appear on your arm, Emil Castagnier finally meets the two loves of his life for the very first time while working at a coffee shop. They will clearly be a handful.
Relationships: Emil Castagnier/Aster Laker, Richter Abend/Aster Laker, Richter Abend/Emil Castagnier, Richter Abend/Emil Castagnier/Aster Laker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	How to Drink Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> I'm backdating this to reflect it's original Tumblr publication date. Because of the 2020 illness sweeping the nation, I figured the site could use more fluff. I'm working on other stuff in the meantime and will post new things soon. But this popped up again and I realized I never posted it here so I figured it was a good time to launch this on AO3. Enjoy!

Based on [this prompt](https://goron-king-darunia.tumblr.com/post/185733292594/you-waited-years-to-see-your-soul-mark-to-read) with a few modifications.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Emil had waited what felt like eons to finally see his soul mark. Friends from school had mostly gotten theirs already. Marta and Alice got theirs during a schoolyard tussle in middle school. Other classmates had theirs appear during grocery store trips or vacations and spring break. Many more had theirs pop up while messaging someone online for the first time, or just before receiving a response to an online comment.  
  
Emil had no such luck. He was still young, of course. Some people didn’t have their soul marks show up until their forties. But he was dying to finally see his. He didn’t want to wait that long. Ever since he was a kid, he’d wanted to find his special someone. A knight or a warrior princess to sweep him off his feet and carry him far, _far_ away from his abusive relatives. Preferably a knight or prince charming of course, but soulmates could be unexpected and Emil wasn’t picky. Alas, here he stood in the Lezareno Coffee Shop, brewing orders and making frappes and getting harangued by customers who “just wanted a plain cup of coffee” and couldn’t bother to even listen to the explanation that there are 30 different blends and they needed to pick one because the procedure is the procedure.  
  
His colleague Colette had just finished up ringing up a man with bright red hair and Emil was in awe. The guy looked to be a college student. He was dressed in a pressed white shirt with a bolo tie and some black slacks with a laptop and messenger bag and a perpetually-caffeine-deprived look on his features. Eye-bags, pursed lips, slouched shoulders, grumpy frown. Despite all this, he was a handsome man. His shiny polished loafers were the only thing that really threw Emil off. People his age usually wore tennis shoes, even in nice clothes. They were comfy and they were meant to get dirty so they didn’t require as much upkeep. Loafers were an old-people fashion in this generation. As preppy as the look was, though, his shuffle and slouch were unmistakeably characteristic of a man whose bank of “fucks I give” had basically run empty. Dude had maybe two fucks left at best. Guy clearly just wanted to be left alone to his business. Sadly, that meant that as cute as he was, Emil was going to have to refrain from asking him for his number on break.  
  
While working on a caramel frappuccino for a lady that had just ordered, a wild-looking blond walked in, slapped a bill down on the counter, and just said “Coffee, hot, lots of it. Surprise me with the blend. Make it blonder than me and absolutely saturate that with sugar. Add two espresso shots to it. And can I get a straw?” Colette just nodded and totaled up the amount for their daily blend with a double espresso, extra cream, caramel syrup, and replaced the bill the blond had put on the counter with change and a wrapped plastic straw. “Thanks, you’re amazing.” He added the change to the tip jar and waited by the other end of the counter to pick up his drink. Emil was a bit baffled by this new guy. The boy had very similar features to himself. The exact shades of blond in both their hairs were different but without the side-by-side, you’d never tell. The customer’s eyes were more hazel than green, too, but one would have to look close to notice. Their body builds were a bit different, and this was probably the most prominent detail. Emil had a bit more muscle on him (he spent as much time running away from his home life as possible) and the customer was a bit wiry and lithe but if you really didn’t scrutinize their faces, they’d be able to switch places no problem. A heavy coat, jeans, sunglasses, and they’d basically be indistinguishable. The customer’s face was sharper, a bit older looking, more masculine, while Emil’s features were a bit softer and rounder, but at a distance? Yeah. They could be twins. Except for the customer’s fashion sense.  
  
Emil, when he wore casualwear, usually wore a nice v-neck in a neutral color, a vest or scarf or jacket depending on the weather, and shorts or jeans in a nice cool tone.  
  
This customer was decked out in red and black, dark jeans and thigh-high boots. He had a gold chain with an angel emblem on it but also a billowing white coat. Emil couldn’t tell if he was a nerd, a counterculture punk, or a dweeb attempting to be edgy. Then again, as he was also a college kid from the looks of things. He might have just thrown on whatever was clean and comfy. Emil couldn’t tell. Emil brewed up the order as Collette finished ringing up another customer. The blond barista placed the cup on the counter just as Collete tapped him on the shoulder. “Can you cover the registers for a quick minute?”  
  
Emil nodded, doing as he was told. luckily there was no one in line so he just had to keep an eye on things while he worked on other tasks and prioritize running the register if anyone _did_ show up.  
  
Aster, the aforementioned blond customer with weird fashion sense, was enjoying his hot cup of pure caffeine and sugar, just about to make his way out the door when he felt a faint tingle on the inside of his right wrist. He’d heard the stories. He was excited to know what the first words his soulmate would speak to him were going to be. He’d always dreamed of something like “Hey, hot stuff! Nice ass!” just so he could eternally shame his soulmate for catcalling him or something sweet like “Hi, you look really friendly! Can you help me study this week?” Some kind of college meet-cute that would lead to some wholesome stories for the kids someday. He eagerly rolled up his sleeves. Would it be funny? Heartwarming? Quirky? Flattering? He frowned when he read the small string of words, printed in a tiny serif font along his arm.  
  
“Who the hell drinks coffee with a straw?!”  
  
Well, that was simply unacceptable! Not only was his soulmate clearly a classless heathen who hated the finer things, but now he was stuck with this stupid soulmate mark! Aster turned around, leaning against the doorframe and eyeing the other patrons suspiciously, angrily sipping his coffee through his straw. As soon as his soulmate uttered those words, he was gonna kick their ass. He glared over the crowd, daring some chucklefuck to stand up and say it to his face. He was going to wreck them so hard he’d ruin the relationship eternally and blow that soulmate mark right off his arm.  
  
Richter twitched, eyes narrowing at the blond beginning to exit and the words began forming in his mind. He didn’t even notice the blond turn to survey the rest of the patrons before he set his own coffee aside and found himself shooting up from his seat, massively offended on behalf of the rest of the sane people in this store. “WHO THE HELL DRINKS COFFEE WITH A STRAW?!”  
  
Aster’s head whipped around. _You!_ He thought. _I’ll rip you a new one right here!_ But before he could get the words out he softened immediately. _Oh no. He’s hot._  
  
“It’s not even iced coffee!” Richter continued, gesturing wildly at the blond’s absurd setup. “What are you even?! Wh– These cups come with lids with mouth holes you know!? So they don’t spill everywhere and so you can drink on the go!”  
  
Richter felt his own wrist tingle and paused. He was filled with anticipation certain that the barista was going to call him out on that statement. In fact, he was praying for it. Because the barista was kinda cute. But no. The words appeared on his wrist moments before they were uttered.   
  
“The straw cools the coffee off on its way to my mouth hole.”   
  
Richter cringed. _Oh no. Why him? He’s cute, too but WHY HIM?! Why not that cute barista boy?! And why did it have to be these words?!_  
  
Emil’s head shot up. “Oh, dear.” Suddenly both his wrists were tingling. It happened sometimes when someone had two simultaneous soulmates. Some people ended up picking one and letting the other mark fade. Some picked both if they could manage it. Emil had heard stories of as many as four simultaneous soulmates and there were legends of people who’d had even more. Emil glanced around, wondering who they could be. It hit him just as the words faded in on his arms and he locked eyes with the blond customer.  
  
Aster called out. “Yo! Barista boy! You can back me up on that, right? Drinking coffee with a straw isn’t weird, yeah?”  
  
“Oh, please! For real, you can settle this right now, my friend. Drinking coffee with a straw is barbaric right? Leaving the cup open like that while walking around in public, ready to spill on everyone! The correct way to drink a hot beverage is obviously from a travel mug or ceramic!”  
  
Aster and Richter both felt their other wrists tingle and they paused their argument, smiling faintly at the words that appeared. “You’re both idiots and you need to stop yelling or my boss is gonna kick you out before I get your numbers.”  
  
“Seems like you’re going to be settling more than just this argument, huh?” Richter smiled.  
  
“You haven’t even asked him out and you’re expecting him to mediate all our arguments?” Aster sassed the redhead, elbowing him in the chest. “We don’t even know each other’s names!”  
  
The three convened at the counter as Colette came back to work the register. “I’m Richter.” The redhead offered his right hand to Emil.  
  
“Emil.” The blond flashed his nametag on his apron before shaking Richter’s hand with a smile.  
  
“Aster Laker.” The other blond reached out to Emil’s still extended hand for another handshake before reluctantly taking Richters.   
  
Richter entered their names into his phone and they exchanged contacts. “Alright, thanks for that. I’ll text you our numbers, Emil.” His phone pinged as the text was sent. “Anyway, I don’t want to take up too much of your time. You’re working after all. But before I go harass this guy about his habits, can we get your professional barista opinion?” Richter grinned.  
  
Emil chuckled. “You’re both wrong. Iced coffee is the only good coffee so drinking a hot coffee any way you want to is wrong.”  
  
Aster cackled, nearly spilling his coffee as he doubled over laughing.  
  
“I can’t tell if you’re a contrarian or just want to dodge the question. This will be an interesting relationship for sure.” Richter smiled, sipping from the mouthpiece of his cup.  
  
“What if I drink my coffee through 25 swizzle sticks glued together?” Aster cackled. “Am I valid?”  
  
Emil and Richter just stared at him. “You’re insane.” Richter murmured, though his face was glowing with amusement.  
  
“Absolutely bonkers.” Emil laughed. “I’ll let you two know when I’m off. Don’t murder each other before I’m done with my shift, okay?”  
  
“No promises.” Richter smiled, walking Aster back to his table.


End file.
